, 1887-08-25
walking their horses slowly forward n

together, there were no black looks or
freezing glances from Leslie-quite the
reverse. Once get a shy girl started, and
what a pace she will gol In less than a
fortnight Les and Marion had neither
eyes, ears, nor tongue for anyone but
themselves. Shakespeare a Y something
about making a pair of stairs 10 love (at
least Mary Anderson says it, if Shakes
poare didn't, but what these two made
was a toboggan slide. If l had acted so!
One day late in June we all met at the
riding school for the last time before sep
arating for the summer. This ride we
meant should be a long one, but the day
was very u~npromising. 1t had rained
the whole night through, the roads were
very muddy, and the sky anything but
clear. Nevertheless, after much discus
sion, and sitting around the parlors, and
going to the door to look at the weather,
''out' was the word, and the horses,
which had been saddled and turned round
since 0 O'Clock, were ordered down.
a new delay! Roushan Bey had rubbed
the buckle of his halter into his eye dur
ing the night, and could not be ridden.
Leslie, always prompt, at once sent for
an old steeplechaser belonging to her
uncle Mr.. Chiswick, which was kept at n
stable just across the street. He had
never been ridden by a lady, but this
was rather an attraction to Leslie; though,
after one look at the white CLEAN in lis
eye, l would have ordered a coffin and a
shroud sooner than mounted Quasimodo,
as the beast was called.
In 10 wise daunted by the fact that
the horse kicked at her the moment he
saw the skirt, adroitly evading the kick,
Les signed to the groom to put his hand
over Quasimodo's near eye, stole quietly
close up to he horses shoulder, and
barely touching the hand Marion Dever-
eux offered, sprang lightly into the sad
die. Drawing the .reins gently through
her fingers, she ordered the groom to
back the horse out into the street without
letting go his head. On the way to the
park Quasimodo behaved well enough.
but the moment he telt the dirt road be-
meath his feet he dashed with a violence
that made me turn faint, made acouple of
awful back jumps, and went up the West
drive in a succession of mad plunges,
snatching angrily at the bride and taking
every bit of rein. l saw Leslie's light
figure braced well back, yielding Just
enough at each plunge to ease the jar of
landing, l heard her clear voice ring out,
pbtdhy 10y pbGdiy Bill. anu AluTlOIl
Devereux's "Well done! well ridden!''
when Walter, laying a hand gently on
my rein, checked Pet Marjorie's forward
start.
Your cousin is all right, " he said.
'Do not follow her too closely; it would
only upset Pet Marjorie and spoil Miss
Leslie's pleasure by anxiety for you"
In fact, some twenty minutes later,
| Union Ngn emma I'M uyith thn ptbo, two
Quasimodo and Vindex were quietly
walking side by side, rubbing noses, and
doubtless discussing the quantity of
oats and quality of hay as earnestly
as their riders were arguing the often
mooted question as to whether Omar
Khayyam were Omar Khayyam, or if
Omar Khayyam were not Omar Khay-
yam, then who Omar Khayyam could be.
No further FRANKS on the part of the
quadrupeds married our long and delight
full ride, until, as we were returning,
some n proposed that we should take
the hurdle four abreast. This was most
successfully accomplished, and after
jumping we halted under the bridge Just
below to let Marion Devereux dismount
and take a stone out of his horses foot.
He was bending down, thus engaged,
when Walter cried out, flake care, Miss
dillingham; But in a. second, before
Leslie could gather up her reins or use
her whip, Quasimodo calmly lay down on
his left side, thereby allowing Les time to
twist herself from under before he rolled
over and oven in the wettest place he
could find, smashing the saddle to bits,
and covering himself with mud from
head to foot.
Stately Les was n spectacle rs she
rose from her undignified roll. Her
shining yellow hair was plastered with
black mud; hat, habit and boots were one
mass of sticky wet clay, but her good
humor was unruffled, and she Joined
heartily in the shouts of laughter which
greeted her rs she rose.
Needless to say, Walter and Marion
both sprang at once to her assistance, but
beyond wringing out her hair and wiping
off the worst of the soft mud, little could
be done, Such incidents rs this never
troubled Leslie; but when the saddle was
found to be n hopeless wreck, the ques-
ton was now to get home. Leslie re-
fused point blank to go up the foot path
and get on an Eighth avenue car, saying
she would walk to the entrance of the
park, and let the groom ride on and lead
Quasimodo back to his stable. Marion
DevcreuX mt once proposed to put Leslie
IN NindeX (she could ride quite well side
ways on a mans saddle) and walk by
her.
To my surprise Leslie did not reject
this plan, nor when Walter suggested
that he and l should ride forward and
send a carriage and wraps to meet her
at the gate did Leslie raise any obiec-
ton.